Harry Styles is Back, and You Aren’t Ready

A shameless promotion for my favorite ex-boy-bander.

Mega-star Harry Styles has certainly been busy since his One Direction days. In 2017, he put out his first album (a self-titled masterpiece that you can listen to here), went on tour around the world, starred in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk… and dropped off the face of the earth for over a year.

In true reclusive Harry Styles fashion, the singer said thank you and goodbye to his many fans via twitter on the same night his headlining tour came to a close, back in July of 2018. This marked the beginning of the Harry drought (hrought, as fans call it), an agonizing waiting game for Style’s indefinite return.

The hrought lasted 15 long months, but we (barely) made it through, and eventually Styles announced his reentry into the spotlight with a single word:

Do. Do? Do!?

The internet promptly broke apart over Styles’ single syllable (can you believe his power?) as fans struggled to find answers to the mystery meaning of this word.

Three days later, billboards and promotion began to pop up around the world, revealing the rest of the phrase: “DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?”

(Find out who you are, here)

Excitement grew, but questions lingered until all this chaos led up to the sudden release of Harry Styles’ new single, Lights Up on October 10.

If you haven’t listened to it yet, I recommend you give it a chance. This song is a clear divergence from Harry’s previous classic rock influence, that much is evident. It has a more pop-like vibe, and both the video and sound have a psychedelic feel because — oh yeah — it was written while Styles was high off mushrooms.

The just-under three minute ballad is about identity, finding yourself, and living your life as who you are, without regret — hence the important question: Do you know who you are? It provides an exciting entry into this new era of Styles’ solo work, but at the same time holds few clear promises. Harry is known for getting more and more experimental with his fashion, look, and music as he matures — his next album could contain an unpredictable: anything. Likely, it will be something we have never seen from Harry before.

In the meantime, everybody say “thank you Harry!” for coming back and blessing our ears with new music — finally. Only time will tell what else he has in store.